


Those who own the earth

by Imamessbutjustpretendimfine



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: A/B/O, Abuse, Alpha!Pidge, Angst, Anxeity, Beta!Hunk, Death, Galra!Keith, Injury, M/M, Mental Health Issues, Mpreg, Omega!Lance, Past Abuse, Post Mpreg, Rape/Non-con Elements, Whump, light descriptions, slave - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-03
Updated: 2018-01-13
Packaged: 2019-02-27 22:22:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 4
Words: 12,695
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13257816
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Imamessbutjustpretendimfine/pseuds/Imamessbutjustpretendimfine
Summary: The earth was been captured by the galra and those who remain in their clutches are now being used as breeding cattle. Lance is one of them, but he may be on the edge of being rescued. He might finally get free and even if he does what does that mean for him and his son. A child who is half Galra himself.





	1. 1

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [The Unforgotten](https://archiveofourown.org/works/13211070) by [Lockea](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lockea/pseuds/Lockea). 



> Yo! So this is different, kinda.  
> I'm not a huge fan of my own writing style and want to improve any criticism is highly encouraged! I written over 13,000 word for this but I'm still trying to iron out some of the details as well as my school is starting again tomorrow so I'll try keep this going :)  
> Its very loosely based off The Unforgotten but I started thinking of the way I would set up that kind of universe and I just started writing so its different but runs on similar themes  
> Also this is unbeta'd so sorry for any mistakes
> 
>  
> 
> !!!TW!!!  
> Also there are references to rape and non-consensual touching but its very light and I don't really enjoy writing highly descriptive stuff in regards to that sort of stuff so if you think this could be potentially triggering I would advise against reading// stay safe and now you're limits

Lance looked down. The small child twisted in his arms and he could help but feel the corners of his mouth lift up. He knew that he should hate his son but he couldn’t. Not when he had carried him for nine months, not when he had worked with his sons fathers people, not when he knew that not all the galra were bad. 

Sometimes he broke, his mind would scream to forget the past, it would be easier if every galra was bad. And then he would see his sons face, he could imagine the friends he used to have and he knew that not every one of them could be bad. He lay on a thin matteress that was on the floor in the cell. He knew the only reason he got a room to himself was because he had only recently given birth three months ago. He was lucky, most got chucked out after one but he had been forgotten slightly and he wasn’t about to remind them if it meant he got to keep the room.

His son, Thell, he hated that the Galra had named his child but the name itself wasn’t bad, fidegted. Lance rocked him back and forth trying to calm the child. He made cooing sounds that caused Thell to move his eyes up to meet his bearers. Thells eyes were strange, it resembled the galras in that it was completely one colour but it wasn’t the bright yellow that the Galra wore. It was a forest green and his face which boasted more human features was more purple than Lance’s natural brown tan. Lance couldn’t help but chirp and coo, stroking his sons head while keeping his neck from tipping back. 

His son was stunning, much like himself, even if he knew that his family would be ashamed of him for bearing him, for giving him the chance to live. The galra were stubborn to admit that any child that was born of an omega was anything less than pure Galra, even though they killed those who didn’t have any or enough galra features. The higher ups were insistent that omegas bore children as close as Galra could get to Galra without actually mating with another Galra.

Even when Thell had been born Lance had been told that his son was Galra and though Lance hadn’t disputed the claim he couldn’t help but feel that was untrue. His son was, yes, part Galra, but he was also part human. Just because one of his fathers was Galra didn’t made Lance or his son any less human than they were. Even if Thell looked like a full blood Galra solider that didn’t mean that he was one.

Lance couldn’t fault the Galra in the way their work ethic. Some of the bearers were given as present to high up generals and commanders but it was rare because presents had to be pure, a virgin and in war, especially this one that requirement was hard to come by. Most children, including Lances, had been conceived due to artificial insemination. It meant that they could keep the bearers pregnant as quickly as possible after they had given birth. The Galra that seemed to run whatever facility Lance was in were mainly female, and got shipments of what Lance guessed was vials of jizz for the insemination process. 

Lance knew he was lucky, rape though unnecessary due to the fact that the artificial insemination existed was rampant and it want uncommon to get pregnant through rape rather than the artificial process. Though the male Galra seemed to be rarer in the facility the ones that were present moved quickly and probably blowing there loads at least twice into some poor unsuspecting omega.

Lance was so happy that he felt guilty. So happy that it hadn’t been him, and rather someone else and he couldn’t stomach the feeling that sat in his gut because of the thought but it meant that he didn’t hate his son. He wasn’t sure if he would have been able to see his son as anything other than a disgusting Galra if he’d been conceived in any other way than the cold clinical feeling of the artificial method.

He pulled himself against the cold metal wall of the cell, rocking his child back and forth as Thell fell asleep. He knew that eventually Thell would be taken away, that though he would be able to see him every so often he wouldn’t be able to teach him and raise him. He would be nothing more than a breeding machine. One of the things he hated the most was that he would never be able to teach his son Spanish, that he could never go to Cuba and see the way the light reflected off the ocean.

He wanted his son to see him as more than just the person that gave birth to him, he wanted to the one he looked up to, he wanted those large green eyes to watch him without any fear in the same way that Lance would look down with his blue eyes and see only innocence and love. If he stayed here he knew that all Thell would see him as would be some dumb whore designed to have children until he finally died, either because of exhaustion or he stopped being able to have kids.

The door slid open, making Lance jump. His eyes bounced up to see a large Galra women in the doorway. “Get up.” She said, her voice harsh and grating, leaving no room for disagreement. Lance did as he was told, maybe if it was a year ago he could have made some sarcastic quip but now he needed to keep his son safe. He moved towards her, gripping Thell who had been harshly woken from his frantic movements. Lance pleaded that the child wouldn’t cry and it seem that Thell was curious about being awoken rather that afraid.

“It’s time for your examination.” The woman said, her yellow eyes following his movement as motioned for him to give his child to her. Lance felt his heart tear, he didn’t want to give his child in anyone elses hands. He looked down at his child one last time, trying to remember every detail before passing him to the women with an intense amount of care. The woman was also careful with the child, which Lance was eternally grateful for but it was definitely different from the way he acted with Thell. “Arms out.” The woman ordered and once again he followed instructions. She pulled the handcuffs from her belt and placed them on his wrists, the cold metal causing goose bumps to appear all over his arms. 

His last examination had been a month after Thell had been born, a check up to see if was producing enough milk and to make sure he had healed so that he could bear another child. He was sure that even if he hadn't been ready they would try to make him conceive anyway. The examination had happened in his cell, not even bothering to take him to one of the examination rooms. He remembered the humiliation he had felt but bottled it down before it could show itself it the form of anger.

The woman motioned him into moving and lead him to the end of the corridor where she gave Thell to another Galra woman who had been waiting before leading Lance in a different direction. He could feel the panic blooming in his chest, his lungs growing tighter as he moved further and further from his child. The woman didn’t seem to noticed, keeping her oversized hand on his arm to prevent him from doing anything but move forward. They finally reached the examination facility, that he hadn’t been in since Thells birth. The room was full of other omegas sitting in a airport style waiting room. Lance quickly swiped a number from the small ticket machine and made for a chair. Before Lance could even take a step the Galra woman grabbed his arm and stared at him.

“Do you love your child?” She asked, the husk had disappeared from her voice, the words whispered. Lances eyes bounced from the grip of his arm to the woman's face. “Of course I do.” He said, his lungs squeezing tighter as he felt his eyes grow wet. The woman seem satisfied and let go of his arm, leaving the room the way they had come.

Lance made his way towards a chair but couldn’t help the tears filling his eyes. He wasn’t sure why the question hit him so hard, making his legs weak and his breath short. It took him a second but he managed to get himself under control. But it didn’t matter, the other omegas had seen him cry. It was a common sight but it showed that you were weak. Lance was not weak.

He pulled himself up so his back was straight and his eyes flicked over the room trying to see anyone he noticed. His eyes didn’t land on anyone he remembered and he felt a slight flame of hope fizzle away. He wasn’t sure how long it had taken before his number was called by when it was he made his way to examination room two and knocked lightly on the door. The purple lights were surprising calming to him even if he had endured horrendous things under them. They were a constant. 

Even if everything was going wrong the lights were there so all he had to do was stare up at them. “212215, lie down.” The doctor, a large Galra man said. He could still remember when he had been given his number. The first way they had showed that he was no more than cattle made for breeding. Lance could feel his legs shaking as he made his way towards the bed. He slid on the cold metal and tried not to cringe as the metal made his body flinch. He had never seen this doctor before, but just like the rest of them Lance had encountered, they didn’t speak or divulge any health related information other than ordering them to do stuff, don’t move around for the next two days, take these pills, things like that.

He lifted his eyes from the drawing he was pulling things from. Lance watched as he inserted a syringe into a small sealed bottle, drawing out the suspicious semi-transparent white liquid. Lance had seen it before, and he felt dread in his stomach. The doctor inspected the vial before laying it down on the side. He turned, moving Lances legs so they sat in the stirrups. 

Lance looked away as the procedure went on, pain and humiliation running through his body. The doctors always moved as though they were bored, like they were empty and couldn’t see the pain they were inflicting their ‘patients’. “This should catch much better than last time.” The doctor said when he finally moved away, leaving Lances legs up. As soon as Lance was sure the procedure was over he quickly lay his legs down, pulling the gown he had been wearing for at least the last two months to cover himself. 

He didn’t want to think about the doctors words. It had taken four procedures last time before Lance had become pregnant, each one as terrifying as the last. The doctor inspected the rest of his body before nodding for Lance to leave. He wanted to get out of this facility and back the safety of his cell where he could hold his child and love him with all of Lances heart. 

He returned to the seating area, his eyes meeting a group who had obviously just come from their examinations. He moved over to them quickly and once noticed was quickly integrated into the conversation. “How are feeling, Carine?” A brown haired woman asked, Lance watching and hoping he would pick up any new information. “Its been the fifteen time, lets hope I’m here for a sixteenth next week.” She said sighing. Lance didn’t recognise the girl but she looked slightly older than him. “I heard that Marcus had his twentieth child last month.” Another person said, the girl, Carine looking shock before her grinding her teeth together. 

“They’re gonna fucking pay. The revolution might have died but they're gonna pay. I’m gonna see to it.” She hissed not noticing a Galra coming to escort them back to their cells. Lance watched as the group as turned to see the Galra who was red in the face, or atleast was under the fur. “I’d like to see any of you washed up old whores try to take over the Galra. Now pledge your allegiance to Zarkon.” She said, her lip curling to reveal rows of sharp teeth. The omegas paled and Lance watched from behind a practically large omega. 

“Vrepit S-sa!” The omegas chanted, and Lance couldn’t help but stave off the pity that he felt. He knew he was in the same boat as them but hearing them speak in unison, that chant that meant nothing and everything to them at the same time just reminded him of how pathetic they all were here.

The Galra seemed satisfied and motion for them to leave. When they reached the end of the corridor the Galra separated them into two lines, checking the small electronic tag pierced through their right ear. It was a tiny chip that held all the current files about the omega. When the Galra reached Lance she grabbed his ear, pulling him forward. “A little eager now, aren’t we?” He said before his brain could tell him to shut up. The galra froze, her eyes narrowing. 

Carefully she placed him in a line all of his own and continued to separate the others. Once she was done two other soldiers appeared, taking each group their separate ways. Lance couldn’t help the shaking in his hands as his finger nails dug into the skin of his palms. The Galra stared at him for a second as though assessing him before smiling. It took a second before the Galra was pressing down on his wind pipe.

~*~

“I have news that I think you’ll find very important.” The voice cracked through the speaker. Pidge sighed, this is what they all said. “And the news is?” She said, her eyes flicking over the coding on her laptop waiting for a response. “The shooter, the one that died two years ago, seems like he isn’t as dead as you thought he was.” Pidge froze. “What do you mean?” She said, her heart speeding up, her hands hovering over her keyboard. “The medical reports we got included a man with that fit the image of him you showed me.” The voice replied. For a second her voice was lost to her before she managed to draw a breath in.

“Why was he in the medical reports? Has he been fighting in the arena?” Pidge knew that didn’t make sense, the arena in this galaxy had been recovered along with Shiro, if Lance had been there they would have known. Unless they had created another one, or he had been placed in a different arena in a different galaxy and had been transported to this one. “It wasn’t pretty. A file was sent through at the same time I was downloading the other ones. It doesn’t say anything about why he's here but he had some pretty nasty injuries, broken hand, black eye, bruising all around his neck.” Pidge carefully moved her laptop off her lap in case she tried to punch it, with the amount of energy rushing through her veins she wouldn’t have been surprised if she punched something. 

“Does it say anything about him being transported?” She waited, the crackling filling the silence before it was once again replaced with the voice. “Nope, the reports here have limited information, you can tell they don’t give a shit, I’m surprised they even exist. It doesn’t seem they have any purpose considering all the captured do is serve the empire or fight in the aren- oh, I think someone's coming. I’ll send you the rest of the information, its mainly routine stuff.” The crackling cut of and silence surrounded her.

Lance was annoying, and flirty and a right pain in the quiznak but he was still her friend. She still loved him like she did with her own brother. She knew that Hunk was still dealing with his death even two years after the fact but now it seemed that maybe instead of him dying on the battlefield, instead they had left him in the hands of the Galra.

Part of her wondered whether telling Hunk would be the best decision, she knew he would feel even more guilty than she could. She shook the thought away, even if it was for the worst Hunk deserved to know, especially if there was a chance they could get him back. She closed her laptop which still sat on the bed and left her room in search of the man.

It was a surprise she found him in the kitchen, mindlessly cooking. “Oh, hey.” HE said, noticing her but not looking up from his baking. “Hunk, I just had a transmission from Kalvre. H-god, he said that he found a man who fit the description of Lance. He said that Lance is alive.” She spoke, biting her lip and staring straight at hunk, trying to gauge his reaction. He had paused when she had started speaking, obviously recognising the pain and frantic tone. He dropped the tray he was holding when she said Lance’s name. His eyes lifting from the space where the tray had been, towards her.

“Are you sure?” He asked, his eyes now burning holes into her head. “Yeah, there wasn’t any info on why he was in the ship but from the wounds Kalvre said he sustained I’m guessing he was fighting, maybe in the arena or something.” Pidge watched as her friends face twisted and contorted. She knew he was going to cry, and even though she wasn’t amazing at reading people or hugging she went in for one anyway.

“Is it the cruiser the Blade of Malmora are taking down?” He whispered as he hugged her back. She nodded, feeling her eyes grow wet. “We should tell Shiro, if they were both in the arena maybe he can help Lance or something.” Pidge smiled at Hunks suggestion, she was happy that he was so sure they were going to get lance back. After all the universe had thrown at them they deserved their friend back even if he wasn’t in one piece.


	2. 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance just wants to stay with his son, while Pidge and Hunk find some help in the form of a half-Galra member of the Blade of Malmora

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well I fixed the spacing in between the paragraphs so it was easier to read  
> None of my work is beta'd so I'm sorry for any horrendous spelling
> 
> I have so many thoughts for this fic that I'm having a hard time keeping it coherent so if there are any plot holes don't worry I'm trying to fill them
> 
> I'm going to be away at he weekend so I wanted to finish this so I felt like I was ready without thinking about how I hadn't uploaded 
> 
> TW  
> There is reference to malnourishment and very loose reference to being withheld enough food. I don't know if this might act as a trigger for those dealing with an eating disorder but I don't want anyone to read anything them would find harmful. Other than that I think that's everything trigger warning wise, if there are any moments you think I should tag in this section please tell me// Stay safe and know your limits :)

Lances face throbbed, and his arm burnt when he moved. He looked into the puddle forming on the floor from the leak in the ceiling. He could finatly see his own reflection, the way his skin sunk in at his eyes and the dark bruise that had crystalised over his cheek. He wished he had his skin care products, he hadnt felt clean in what felt like years… mainly because it had been year.

“Dios.” He whispered as he traced the hollows of his cheeks, he could hear the lack of emotion in his voice but couldn’t be bothered to correct it. His reflection rippled as another droplet of water fell into the puddle. “What are you looking at?” A voice called, making him shift away from the puddle, the image of his face burnt into his memory. It was still strange hearing humans speaking Galran even after learning it himself, speaking it to his child. 

“Just looking at my reflection. Its been a while since I got to last.” HE said, managing a weak laugh. The woman nodded, her skin bearing the same sunken look as his own. “Have they confirmed your next bearing?” She asked. He watched the way her face changed, curiosity blooming over her features. IT had been a while since he had seen true curiosity. Most of it hidden beneath layers of indifference. He shook his head. IT had only been a week since his appointment with the doctors and there would be another one in a few days to check in the seed had caught and if not, well it would be back to the artificial process.

“What about you?” He asked, surprised as a smile burst across the girls face. She nodded enthusiastically, who was this girl? His mind screamed. Had she gone insane being with the Galra? “I went in yesterday to check, I’m so happy. I hate being in those rooms with those other omegas. It’s okay when were bearing but I feel so territorial when I’m not.” He wasn’t sure but Lance was pretty certain his face was betraying the complete confusion he felt as he stared at her. 

“I hope that we can stay in the same room if you’re bearing!” She half squealed, leaving Lance spinning. He managed a nod. He had never liked sharing rooms with the others, they were… annoying to say the least. They threw up half the time, which while he couldn’t blame them for didn’t help him with his own morning sicken being awakened to the smell of vomit. The only thing they talked about was gossip about the other omegas, even a few trying to seduce the Galra. Personally he thought they were insane until he had learnt how long this Galra breeding scheme had been running.

He knew that the Galras original stance against omegas were that they were worse than the weakest Galra and for that they should die but when they found out about the breeding capabilities of omegas they had started the program. Their ‘kill on sight’ campaign had run until he was around 13 meaning there could have been omegas having lived on the ship for five years, some of the youngest being only twelve or eleven when they arrived. That means they have lived five years of their young innocent lives thinking the Galra were helping them.

Helping them to reach their full potential. HE remembered talking to other slaves, half of them too empathic to rip this naïve belief placed by the Galra from the slaves. He hated the idea that they had been groomed to believe all they were was cattle designed to be breed.

But this girl, she looked a few years older than him, granted it was hard to judge age when living in a place where they were fed just enough to keep their reductive processes going and not much else. This girl couldn’t have been less than fifteen when she came into the facility even if she'd entered it when it had started. But as he watched her he could tell something was up with her eyes. They looked almost glossed over, he couldn’t tell if it was her own doing or something the galra had done but for some reason he felt the faint feeling of jealousy. 

You are lucky

A voice penetrated any thought that had previously occupied his mind. He blinked, looking up at the girl who was still staring at him with an off putting amount of glee. “Can you just repeat what you said?” HE asked, slowly trying to pin point the voice. “I said it would be nice if we could share a room through the bearing process.” He snapped out of his trance nodding. “Me too.” HE finally said the words feeling painfully fake but the girl didn’t seem perturbed. 

He looked around the room, trying to hear the other voices, trying to tell if he had just made up the voice. He shook his head, only to aggravate the pain that ran through it. “When are you being moved?” He asked, trying to focus on something else. The girls smile grew even wider. “Hopefully tomorrow, I cant wait to leave this room.” 

Lance couldn’t agree more. The Galra had come and taken Thell, putting him in the Crib. Lance was only allowed to see with the other bearers, only allowed to feed the children before being taken away. It had been five quintants since he had been removed from his singular room, since Thell had been taken. HE had managed to not cry but he wasn’t sure if he could do it much younger, he felt like he was balancing on the edge of a knife or feeling nothing and feeling everything. When he pulled himself out of his thoughts he noticed the girl had moved away, going to speak to a different omega.

He moved back to his bed, that was a mattress similar to the one in his singular room, pushed against the wall next to three other identical beds. The other seven omegas living in this room had barely interacted with him since he had come, which he was perfectly fine with. HE didn’t want to pretend he understood their mind set and that they understood his. He already knew that no matter how similar they’re situations they everyone was feeling something different. HE was fine with that, he only needed to know his own thoughts. 

He sat on the hard mattress, trying to imagine his bed back at the resistance. It hadn't been much better but there was actually a frame it, not just material that held the title of mattress so loosely he was more certain it should have been called a rag. HE sighed pushing the image away, letting himself see what was there and not what he wanted to be there.

HE wasn’t sure how long he lay against the wall, being ignored just as he ignored the rest of his roommates. He snapped out of whatever trance he had been held in when the door clicked open, revealing another Galra solider. He had been finding it harder to remember there faces, he had a feeling it was to do wit the removal of Thell. HE couldn’t be bothered to think of much else other than him and the fragments of his past. He long with three other omegas moved to their feet. 

The other five carried on with what they were doing, too accustomed to the routine of those who had already birthed a child going to feed and sooth their scared children. He was patient while the handcuffs were attach but he felt the anxiety rise. He just wanted to his son. He wanted to hold his child in his arms and they were taking too long. His foot impulsively tapped against the floor, trying not to let his urgency get the better of him.

If the Galra had noticed they didn’t make it known. “Move.” She ordered, fear battering his suddenly shaky legs. Pain shot up his hand as the handcuffs scratched against his half healed bones. The hurt seemed to amplify as the Galra glared at him into moving. His lungs once again tightened but he managed to keep it under control. They walked in silence, the omegas in front of them keeping their faces to the floor. No matter how long Lance stayed in this place he hoped he would never not hold his head up high. The Galra deserved to see the bruise that flared across his skin, they deserved to see how thin he was. He hoped his image was burnt into their retinas, though he doubted it affected them.

By the time they reached the Crib Lance was sure his nervous energy was apparent to the other omegas not to mention the Galra. They were let into the room, full of small cribs, lined up next to each other, each half a meter apart so that people could access each child. There were no clothes or blankets to wrap up the children, and when Lance had asked an older more experienced omega about it, she had smiled explaining that the Galra believed harsh conditions bred the best warriors. The emptiness that threatened to overload Lance had washed over him when he had heard it, his lips pressed together to stop exclaiming profanities at the god, if there was god anymore.

He was quick to move to Thells crib, picking him out immediately. He relished in the feeling of the child in his arms, the warm of his skin pressing against his own. He would never forgot this feeling. Even if he was forced to have 20 children, he was sure he’d never forget the feeling of each one in his arms. HE could hear the Galra grunting to take them to a room where they food like they’re children feed, but Lance was too entranced with the tiny baby in his arms.

Thell was still asleep but his little face scrunched up as he yawned, large green eyes peeling open to look straight up at Lance. The child giggled and it made Lances heart sing. That sound was enough to keep him going for ten thousand deca-phoboes. He just knew it. He nodded, laughing back as he made his way back to the door.

He didn’t even notice getting to the other door, he was too busy admiring his son, who had begun to whimper slightly when lances hold on him had become unsteady. Lance cursed the handcuffs as he repositioned his son, before sitting at a purple chair. He didn’t want to let Thell drink too quickly, he had to savour his limited time with the child. When he finally let Thell drink he didn’t even dare take his eyes off the baby, scared that the child would disappear if he even dared to remove him from his sight.

He never wanted to let go. He didn’t want to let Thell fall into the arms of the Galra. 

If it was the last thing he would do, he would get his son out of this hell.

~*~

Pidge and Hunk were eager to find Shiro, who was as usual hauled up in the training deck with a bunk of Blade fighters. Allura hadn't been very happy when he had agreed to train them but had relented after her opinions were swayed by a certain half-galra individual. 

They slipped into the room, hoping not to disturb very much as they saw members of the blade and shiro sparing. There movements were slick and smooth. Like they were actually made of liquid, following each of their movements through perfectly. IT was crazy, their feet barely touching the floor as they flipped and twisted, making aerial maneuver. They stood, stunned, trying to make there presence known without startling the others and accidentally getting caught up in the fight. Neither Pidge nor Hunk were all that keen to get mixed up in that kind of gymnastics.

“Okay, that’s enough.” Shiro called, barely sounding out off breath. The members of the Blade dropped almost immediately, heaving large gulps of air into their lungs making the two engineers feel a little better about their current problem of being so unfit they got out of breath crossing the room to get the next pizza roll. At first Shiro didn’t notice them, moving to grab a water bottle. His metal hand gleaming in the light.

“Um!” Pidge called out, making everyone turn to face them. Shiro looked vaguely surprised, probably because it was rare to see Pidge out of her room at this time, but jogged over. “Hey guys, something important must have happened if you’re out in the open.” HE half joked, making pidge puff her fringe up. “Just because some of us are more accustomed to the dark doesn’t mean they never go out.” She let a lazy smile appear on her face before remembering the original news she actually wanted to say.

“You know Lance, the shooter, he helped free you when we took the arena?” She asked, her voice getting higher and higher as she spoke, unable to contain herself. Shiro looked puzzled for a second. They hadn't spoke often about Lance after his apparent death. They had added his grave to the ones Lance had made for his family, Shiro had tagged along, paying his respect. That’s where he had learnt the most about the Cuban boy. That he was a witty, far too flirty, asshole that was far too important to ever imagine cold and still in the ground. “Yeah, we went to his grave on the anniversary.” HE said, trying to figure out the supposedly useless piece of information, what was the use of bringing up a boy who had died and that Pidge and Hunk were still grieving even if they wouldn't admit it.

“He's alive. I know this is crazy but hear me out. You know Kalvre, how he's sorting out transmissions on the battlecruiser, well he found the medical documents of Lance, recent ones. H-he's on the ship, a prisoner. We think he was fighting in the arena.” Pidge exclaimed, speaking so fast Shiro could barely keep up. “Wa-hold on, hold on. There is no arena anymore. You took it back, how?” He asked, still trying to comprehend what was going on. Yes, he had never personally known Lance but the idea of the boy had impacted him far more than he was willing to say.

The image of a boy, no older than sixteen going in to help fight and losing his life for it. HE didn’t spare Lance thoughts often, usually when he was feeling extremely pitiful or when the anniversary of his release and at the same time Lances death came up. He hated to think that if Lances death hadn't been such a pivotal moment for both Pidge and Hunk then he would have forgotten the boy. 

 

To Shiro, Lane represented the forgotten, the millions of people he would never know had died. HE knew he had to deal with that reality but the pictures he had been shown of Lance, a child with emotions and a story, made it so much closer to his heart. “We’re not sure. He might have been at an arena in a different galaxy and just transferred over, or he could have been a slave working for the Galra.” Shiro's brow furrowed.

“Or they might be creating a new arena in this galaxy.” Hunk pitched in. Shiro couldn’t help the feeling of his stomach twisting at the notion of a new arena. “I don’t think that’s impossible. The Galra never cared about keeping the arenas existence a secret and it hasn’t been in any transmissions. I- why do you think he was part of the arena?” HE asked, his eyes flicking between the younger two.

Just as Pidge was going to reply a man, a member of the Blade came up. “Hey, Shiro the others want to know if they could go or if there was more training?” The man spoke with slightly accented English. Shiro turned to him for a second, a heavy smile on his lips. “Just a moment, Keith, I’m just sorting this out.” HE sighed, shooing the Blade member away. The masked Galra nodded, returning to his teammates. 

“He was injured. Kalvre had found him through a medical report. Kalvre said he had a broken hand and brusing and stuff. It seemed like stuff to receive in that type of environment.” Pidge said, her voice getting weaker and weaker as her brain worked faster and faster. Despite humans being kept as slaves there conditions were never horrendous. They were usually malnourished and in need of some TLC, maybe a few injuries but over all if the Galra saw them as useful they were safe from attack. Shiro sighed, looking at his arm, the metal taunting him, a permanent reminder of his experiences. “We need to find more out about what's happened to Lance. They may have known he was a resistance fighter and t-“ He cut himself off, trying to block out the memories of his own experiences.

HE could see purple, purple, purple, filling his vision, his ears, his mouth. “Shiro.” HE snapped back to reality as Hunk shook his real arm. He blinked before letting out another sigh. “The Blades plan with the battle cruiser is still underway, we can deploy more spies to gather intel on whether any other prisoners are being kept in the ship. Considering Lance wasn’t reported in the last transmission of the ships slaves this could be a clue that they’ve recently brought more on. We have to figure out why and we have to figure out if they’re planning to do anything with the prisoners.” 

Shiros head hurt, he wanted to lie down, and would have done so if the Blade member, Keith, hadn't returned. “I-we… I heard you talking about the Battlecruiser plan, I was wondering if any new information had risen that would concern the mission?” HE asked, his voice cold and clean. Pidge felt a bolt of anger run through her body. “And what's it to you?” She snapped, annoyed that the Galra had eavesdropped, why did he even think he was qualified to ask about the mission.

Keith flinched slightly at the tone. “I’m sub commander, I was thinking I could aid you.” HE replied, his voice still unwavering. Both Pidge and Hunk stared. This Galra didn’t seem much older than them, sub commander was no full commander but still, it took some effort to get the position. Shiro seemed to mull an idea over in his mind before nodding. “Keith, this is Pidge and Hunk, both excellent engineers and sometimes pilots. They have found some information regarding a human that means he may be on the Battlecruiser. I think it would be beneficial if Keith knew what Lance looked like. If he recognises Lance then Lance might be able to take Keith to other prisoners and such.” Shiro said, leaving no room for opposition in his voice.

Pidge and Hunk looked back and forth between the two before Hunk sighed. “I suppose we don’t have a choice. Come on Kieth.”

Keith looked a little awkward, shuffling, before he removed his helmet. To both Pidge and Hunks surprise he looked surprisingly human. Sure he had large purple ears and his sclera’s were tinted yellow slightly but his skin was a very pale peachy colour and all of his features seemed to be far more human than they were Galra. “What this about a lance? I mean I work with swords but I don’t think lances are my speciality.” Pidge wanted to snort but couldn’t bring herself to find him funny, not when they were talking about a boy who had supposedly died two years ago.

“Come with us.” She said, not sparing a second thought before leaving the training deck. She knew that Hunk would make sure Keith followed so she didn’t bother looking back until they reached her room. She quickly unlocked it, revealing clothes on the floor and bunch of wires coiling all over the room. Keith looked surprised. “How did it get like this?” He asked, his stare incredulous. Pidge let out a huff of air. “I can’t be tidy and a genius, now you’re going to be part of taking the battlecruiser down. Correct?” She asked as she rummaged in the draws and cupboards that were built into the walls around her bed. “Yes.” He replied, still looking confused as he watched her. “Hunk fill him in while I get a photo of Lance.” She ordered, not looking away from what she was doing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading, critique would be lovely :)


	3. What he looks like

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Allura is having trouble with the lions, Pidge and Hunk reminisce, and Keith wonders if he'll ever truly belong

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just to preface this now, I hate writing Slav, I don't like maths so anything he says is probably awful but its more just to have the information there. Its important later on.  
> I would say this is slight fillery, I just wanted to get some base stuff down, more happens in the next chapter

Allura was done. She had had felt enough dismay with the stupid hunk of metal. Why couldn’t it just accept someone as their paladin. What was she kinding, the red lion was just as bad as the blue lion. So picky. She couldn’t get her head around it. Hunk, Pidge and Shiro seemed like great matches for their lions and they had practically just appeared out of no where. Or she supposed it was her who had popped up, waking up from a ten thousand year slumber. She couldn’t get her head around it, she thought the lion had emitted a signal but there was no sign of sentience when she had gone down to check. IT just sat there with its barrier up like always did. 

She shook her head wearily at the lion. She went back to the control room. She had a list of people who might work for both the red and blue lion but none of them were working. She hated feeling so useless. She had barely convinced the Blade and the resistance that Voltron was such a formidable weapon that they should put so much effort into finding its paladins. It had only been with the help of that mongrel Galra boy, Keithon or was it Kelth? She didn’t remember.

She tried to stay away as much as she could from the Galra especially that Keith boy after all of the escapades she had had to deal with them. Even if he did help her he obviously didn’t have what it takes to pilot any of the lions even if he did run on instinct, even if he was as wild as the red lion. 

No, he was the worst choice.

She thought of the blue lion. Who had done nothing but send out useless signals that didn’t mean anything. She had tried to decrypt it a few times, even getting Coran and Pidge to look it but nothing. It was useless. She couldn’t understand why the lion was being so specific about its paladins. Her father had always said the Blue Lion was pretty accepting of all different types of people as long as they were good at heart. But the Blue Lion seemed to have their heart set on someone but she just couldn’t figure out who.

She went back to the control room, looking back at the records trying to find the strange signal that she was sure had been sent out. She found it, it only lasted two ticks but it was there. The signature was always the same, but the pattern seemed completely random. As she went back through past versions of the signal Coran walked in, grooming his moustache nonchalantly. “What are you doing, princess?” HE asked, moving to stand beside her.

“You know, you could get Slav to have a look at the signal.” He said, stroking his moustache. Allura was pretty sure Coran had no idea what that meant, not to say she understood either. She sighed, she had tried to speak Slav into looking at the signal before but he was pretty hard to convince into doing anything he didn’t want to do. 

“Could you go get him? There was just another signal, I feel like this is going to be the missing piece in finding the Blue Paladin.” She said with a sigh. He nodded. “I will try, Princess.” HE said, his over the top manner not failing to leave a smile on her face. She hadn't noticed until she heard the voices in her ear but the mice were sitting on her shoulder, the largest, Platt, the closest to her ear. “What was that?” She asked as the mouse repeated his statement.

“Oh my god, really!” She exclaimed. She had always been a fan of the gossip the mice provided but they were pretty good for actual information as well. “I’ll have to talk to Pidge and Hunk to make sure they don’t do anything extreme. You know how Pidge is about family.” The mouse nodded, squeaking in response before she let out a laugh. “I know Lance isn't actually related to Pidge but he might as well be with how close they are.” 

Before she could continue with her conversation the door opened to reveal Coran carrying a Slav that had swirled his body around the Altean's neck, clutching onto him with terror. Allura had a hard time suppressing a smile at the sight.

“In this universe there is a ninety percent chance that whatever you are going to ask me will have a one in seven chance that it will be related with death.” HE exclaimed, grabbing Coran tighter. Allura thought she couldn’t be surprised by Slav but somehow his endearing and irritating manner somehow prevailed on the matter. “Slav, this is the signal I’ve been telling you about. Do you remember?” She asked, the last sentence was a mistake, she knew it as soon as she had said it.

Slav seemed affronted. “Of course I remember, there is only a 13 percent chance that I would forget in this universe.” He said, wobbling as Coran brought him towards the screen with the recent signals on it. As though in a flash all his hands started working at once. Moving in sync as his eyes flicked across the screens, taking in all the information. Both Coran and Allura watched, still surprised how quickly the man (?), Allura had no idea, could change his tack.

Slavs hands were still whizzing across the keyboard when he made a loud, ‘ahh’ sound as though he understood. Allura moved closer, trying to see whatever Slav could see. “There is a pattern, I think it revolves around the number two, wait no, there are three numbers but there are an infinite ways that they could be placed together and that could change the percentage of any number of things happening.” Allura was itching to know what the numbers were. After almost two years of the signal being sent, she wanted to understand what was so important that the Blue Lion was sending signals out even without a Paladin. 

“Hmm, the numbers are 2,1 and 5. As I said, there as a thousand ways they could be put together and each has its own meaning. 

She nodded, rubbing her eyes with her hand. Coran gave her sympathetic smile. “Don’t fear, princess, the Blue Lion knows what its doing. It will find its paladin in time.” He said, trying to soothe her worrying.

~*~

Hunk shuffled around the mess, sighing as he nudged a dirty jumped out of his way. He moved to sit on the bed, motioning for Keith no shook his head but stepped forward out of the doorway so the door could close. He seemed to be relieved now the mess was contained, her stiff stature relaxing slight. “So, how much do you know about our unit?” Hunk asked. It was no secret that a lot of the resistance didn’t really understand what they were doing, thinking it was a waste of recourses.

Keiths eyes seemed to look at the ceiling for a second as he tried to recall before turning back to Hunk. “Princess Allura is your commander?” The uncertainty was apparent in his voice, and it didn’t surprise Hunk at all. The Blade were known for their secrecy and they also didn’t particularly like working with other rebel forces, but the human resistance had been one of the most successful revolts to the Galra in the whole invasion process so they were forced to work together.

HE nodded, trying to get more out of the Galra soldier. “Well you work in a special unit, Shiro is the task leader and he used to be a slave in the Arena, and you and Pidge were saved by the resistance.” He said, shuffling on his feet. “We didn’t learn a lot about anyone else other than Shiro.” Again, Hunk was not surprised, Shiro was famous all over the resistance. He was a symbol that the Galra couldn’t get rid of, that humans didn’t and wouldn’t let themselves die in peace, they would always fight. 

“Yeah, kind of. We are on the Princess’ task force, but before we were recruited, before Shiro was saved we worked on a separate unit. There was a boy, Lance, he was our sharpshooter. Anyway when we went to retrieve Shiro and destroy the Arean we got separate and he, Lance, got caught in a sector of the ship that was blown up. We thought we had died, that he was stuck in that part of the ship b-but we just got word that he’s alive.” Hunk took a deep breath, thinking back on his history with Lance was hard enough as it was but having to think about the fact that he was somewhere in the hands of the galra made him want to cry. “We think that he was a fighter in another Arena, maybe one in a different galaxy and has been moved back to this battlecruiser. We need to find out why he's been brought back, we need to get him out.” 

Hunk moved to see if Pidge had finished looking. Pidge hadn’t known Lance as long as Hunk and from Pidge’s knowledge Lance had protected both himself and Hunk by bribing a Galra soldier so that they could escape Earth. She knew that for Hunk, Lance was the brother that he never had. Though for all Pidge knew Hunk could have had brothers, he never spoke about his family while Lance yapped on and on about them. Pidge reached as far as her arms would let her until she felt just what she was looking for.

She scrapped her fingertips against the box until she caught an edge and pulled it out, dusting it off. She lay the box on the bed. It wasn’t big, and was made metal painted a dull shade of green. There was a little broken lock on the front which she wiggled slightly before it bounced open. She rarely took the box out, all that it represented was a little too much. The last time had been Lances birthday and she had completely broken down. Kalvre had overheard her, coming in to see the photo.

She was glad he had. She had always been slightly embarrassed about the breakdown in front of the Galra spy, she had practically split her and Lances entire story but now she couldn’t be more thankful about it. If it hadn't been for that then Kalvre wouldn’t have known Lances appearance, she would cry a thousand more tears if it meant that Lance wouldn't be returned. But she knew that now wasn’t the time for tears, it was the time for action. 

She felt her hand shake as she lifted it open, letting the light fall on the trinkets the chest contained. She filtered through a small pile of photos. Her fingers brushing over the crinkled gloosy paper, that had browned over the years. 

Hunk moved closer, his eyes shifting over the items in the box. A bottle of face lotion that had belonged to lance, a dumb little drawing about how she was a gremlin and how Lance was a handsome prince. Carefully he picked up the photos she had already sifted through. The first was one that Lance had owned before the invasion. He was surrounded by his family, a tiny nine year old without a care in the world. The next was a baby photo of his twin sisters and then the next was a picture of himself standing next to Lance in their cadet wear, worn but still smiling. It had been right after they had been inducted into the Garrison.

Keith was also looking at the photos. The next photo was just after reaching the resistance, taken just before the photo before it. Lance and Hunk, fourteen standing next to a Pidge even smaller in stature. Hunk and Pidge were smiling in the photo and Lance was too but there was something off. A hollowness in his eyes. Pidge finally pulled away from the box, showing the picture to Keith and Hunk. There was a flicker of recognition in Hunks eyes as saw the photo. It was the last one they had of him before his death. It was an official photo, just after his rank had been raised. 

He was smiling, the corners of his mouth lifted in a smirk, and he sitting with his back straight up. His skin was flawless and his eyes a little brighter. “This is the most up to date photo we have of him though I’m sure he will look older now.” Keith nodded, taking the photo from her, his eyes examining as though trying to see every tiny detail. Pidge wondered what Lance looked like now, the snarky sixteen year old now a fully grown adult. “How old was he? In this photo?” He asked. 

“He was almost sixteen when that photo had been taken. He’s eighteen, almost nineteen now. Keith nodded. “I will try my best.” Hunk watched as Keith stared at the photo, his face seemingly stuck in an unmoving glare. His eyes narrowed as he viewed the photo.

That was all Pidge and Hunk could ask for, but they wished they could ask for more.

 

~*~

 

To say Keith didn’t understand humans very well was a completely true and embarrassing statement for him. Yes, he was half human himself but he just couldn’t understand. It was probably because he had spent most of his life living with his mother and the Galra rather than on Earth with his father.

IT was easy to understand how the Galra acted. They were a warrior race with thickened skin and all seeing eyes. They were built to fight and it made sense that they did so, but humans. They were small and soft, there blood being easily split over their translucent skin. They had no claws or sharp teeth to speak of. They were like Princess Allura, meant to be diplomats. And yet they fought, they were bad with words, quick to anger. They were strikingly like the Galra in mind and so like the Alteans in body.

Maybe that should have made it easier for him to understand but his mind could not wrap itself around the idea of there fleshy balls of anger being so ready and prepared to fight for what they believed in. Unless there was a resistance already formed it made most sense to let the Galra invade, they were more powerful than any human could attempt to be. But none of the resistance forces that already existed came to earths help and earth still managed to take away a large amount of the Galras profit.

Keith, had taken the photo from Pidge who had promised him the more up to date one with Kalvres next transmission of files. The boy who stared back at him through the picture looked fearless. Bright blue eyes that contrasted his skin almost painfully, seeming staring into his soul with even the slightest hesitance. There was something about how casual the boy seemed, his back was tilted back and his smile was loose, like that was all he was, a boy and not a fighter in some intergalactic war. Keith wondered what he would have looked like if he had inherited his fathers human feature rather than his mothers.

Even though he did bear human features, in the way his nose was and the shape of his eyes, mirroring his fathers Korean background. IT wasn’t the same. He had never belonged, he could never be loose and down to earth. He wasn’t relatable, not in the way that he looked and he knew that had shifted the way he acted.

He could hear Shiro in the back of his head the first time he had said that Keith worked completely off of instincts. IT was true, to an extraordinary degree. He wondered if his impulsiveness came from his Galra or his Human side, it was probably a mix of both.

Keith had always accepted that he was alone. It was just a fact, his mother, dead, his father if he hadn't died in the invasion was probably working in one of the Pens down on earths surface. He highly doubted his father was alive, from what the resistance knew the life span had decreased by something like a third. His father was definitely past that age. Even in the way he looked he was alone, that was fine. IT wasn’t like he wasn’t used to it but the boy that stared back at him from the photo. There was so much familiarity, not for himself in particularly. But the smile, it reminded him of his mothers, his eyes reminded him of the princess even if they were a more uniform blue. His skin reminded him of Hunk and that food and warmth that came with him. There was even something Shiro-esque, his posture like he was truly proud of his position.

Keith was jealous.

He tucked the photo back into his uniform, making sure his mask was covering his face before going to find the other Blade members.


	4. A face to a name

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Something big is going on in the crusier and the resistance can finally put a face to a name

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW
> 
> Description of injuries
> 
> Also I'm trying to make the next chapter a little more interesting to make up for this one because its a lot of set up :)

There is a certain threshold everyone has to pain. Lance was defintely past his. But his pain wasn’t the kind you felt when you smashed your elbow into the edge of a table, or falling wrong and breaking your wrist. The pain moved in shivering waves from his to his chest, travelling down his arms and legs in overwhelming sorrow. It was the kind of pain that came with the mind rather than the body and it was like his mind was screaming at him.

So yeah, he had passed his limit and there was nothing he could do about it.

He had a check up soon, he knew but all he could do was sit on his thin mattress and stare out in front of him.

He knew the other omegas were avoiding him. It was a safety mechanism, he knew, he had done it to other omegas before. The ones who sat blank faced thinking about the children they hadn't seen in days. Now he was that omega. He knew that the others indulging his pain would have a backlash affect where they would realise that this was going to happen to them. It wasn’t just because he happened to be particularly weak.

If one thing Lance had learnt from this place was that everyone was weak to someone else.

His eyes were focused on the purple wall in front of him but his minds eye saw his son, smiling and giggling back up at him. He focused on the image, desperately trying to remember his features. The way his noise scrunched up when Lance cooed too close to his face and the way his whole face brightened when he rocked Thell back and forth.  
His mind tried to settle on something other than the pain but it kept resurfacing, breaking the image of his son. He shifted himself slightly, back down to the plastic pump he had been given so that he could provide milk even when he was, in what he had heard the Galra call, the detoxification process. He knew that it meant detoxing the children from their human bearers but he had heard humans use the term in a similar way. Their voices full of disgust like they couldn’t even imagine calling the tiny innocent mixed children their own.  
He had once made him feel so ill that he almost threw up. He couldn’t remember much from the time he had been pregnant, just bits and pieces, fragments of memories pushed down into his subconscious. But he didn’t think he would ever truly forget the tone that woman had used to describe the last child she had. It felt like someone had peeled the skin off of his swollen stomach while he watched.

HE had had to spend the rest of his pregnancy in the same room as her and a few others who had very similar beliefs to that woman and part of him was reminded that some humans were monsters just as the Galra were. He hated bringing race into things. It was unnecessary, in his opinion. It wasn’t that it didn’t exist, it was just if it had nothing to do with the subject why bring it up but he had always thought that maybe he didn’t hate on the Galra as much as a lot of the other omegas was because he knew what it was like to be criminalised.

He half-heartedly shook his head at the thought. None of that mattered anymore, race didn’t mean anything to the Galra. They learnt that no one race of human bred more Galra solider, though Lance and theorised that they gave a different batch of seed to the taller omegas, the buffer ones who real warriors could be bred from.

His thoughts moved back to his son again, leaving the horrid memories of his pregnancy behind, and the pain relit itself. He couldn’t remember the last time he had cried, he was surprised he wasn’t crying now. It just hurt so damn much. Like his insides were screaming at him to move, to find Thell and run. It screamed at him to wait till a Galra opened the door and then he would jump out, use anything he could as a weapon until he made it to his son.

And then what?

The voice asked, making his back straighten and his face whip around wildly. How long had this fucking voice been speaking to him, he didn’t know but he was sick of it. He already knew that his mental state was so close to breaking that the cracks would have been visible if someone's mental health could be formed into a 3D object. 

He wanted to pretend that he was strong, that he wasn’t weak like everyone else. He wanted to pretend that if he left this place tomorrow it wouldn’t have any affect on him… This stupid voice was a spanner in the works, just telling him he was crazy. He had heard a mother of one of his friends in school when he was younger heard voices. That she was a witch or a fairy. It scared most children but now Lance could see, if what that woman was hearing was anything like what he was experiencing, it was wasn’t magical or out of this world. 

It was scarily real, like another person sitting right next to you, speaking, except there's no one there and you made it up. He didn’t acknowledge the voice. He didn’t need to, it always disappeared after saying one statement. The door of the room clicked open, Lances mind bouncing back to his plan, a plan that he would never act out but that he knew would never truly leave his mind. 

He carefully peeled himself away from his bed sheets, lining up with the other omegas. TO his surprise another omega, a nervous one who was physically shaking moved closer to the Galra. “Are we seeing the children?” She asked, her eyes shifting from the ground to her handcuffs that secured her wrists together. The Galra looked as though she was thinking for a moment before nodding. “There is also an announcement going to be made, so you time will be split with the babies and then we will go to the Acre.”  
The women nodded, though it could have been a shiver up her spine with how violent her shakes were. He couldn't tell if it was a side affect of being on edge all the time or if it was a genuine problem that she would live with the rest of her life.

He hadn't pumped, he realised, and he had half the time available to feed Thell, he was an idiot. He had spent so much time thinking about his son he hadn't even thought to think what the kid would actually need. He knew that when his second pregnancy would be confirmed he would be able to see Thell more, it wasn’t like he could do much else other than bond with his child while he had a bun in the oven. So much for the 'detoxifying' process. 

They reached the room, Lance finding Thell immediately. “I-is it okay if we take them with us to the Acre?” He asked, hearing the quiver in it but he ignored it. He wasn’t weak because of it. The Galra looked up from where they were playing with their nails. If he had wanted to escape he could have done it then, when the Galra was thinking nothing bad would happen, what could these weak omegas do. 

HE pushed the thought away, hoping the Galra would be fine with him wanting extra time with Thell. The Galra looked like he was against it for a second before nodding, going back to what they were doing before. Lance frowned at the interaction, he had never seen a Galra bite their tongue like that before, at least not in the presence of any omega. Maybe once or twice in front of their commanders but even that was rare. He took a seat, feeding his son, the pain in his abdomen forgotten as it was replaced with warmth.  
He didn’t even notice as the time ran down the drain and there was a small high pitch alarm that went off. Lance winced at the horrid sound, his hands stuck around his child, who seemed thoroughly undisturbed by the noise. He had seen them use the noises before. Ones that only affect humans but go unnoticed by the Galra. Some of the other children started crying, disturbed by the noise. 

The Galra grunted, motioning for them to leave. Lance carefully rearranged Thell in his arms before making his way back to the door. IT was awkward with the purple handcuffs on his arms but there was nothing he could do and he was fine as long as it meant that he could hold Thell. His eyes wandered over to the other half Galra children, marvelling at how different they all looked. When his eyes shifted back to his sons he wondered if the child would ever truly fit in. Would he be too human to be respected or would he be too Human for the other omegas to see him a innocent victim of a broken system.

If this ever did end he knew that these children would be forgotten innocent. Destined to be lumped into the mass of Galra soldiers, he had seen it before with the Blade and he would see it again with the huge amounts of half-breed coming out from this process. But then he knew it wouldn’t end, he couldn't let himself hope that it would truly end. That’s why he never followed any of his plans through, they would never actually succeed. 

Finding out that he could have escaped would have crushed Lances very soul, he could feel it bearing down already. They made there way back through the winding corridors reaching two large white doors that stood out painfully against the purple that seemed to have been the only colour the Galras personal decorator knew. 

He had been in the Acre before, the Galra saying the space and ‘clean’ air was good for their pregnancies, he had no idea if it was true but he was just happy to see something other than purple. As soothing as the colour was, constant and smooth, he knew eventually he would hate the colour. Even if it was the one that his son wore on his skin.

~*~

Pidge was once again looking back at her computer screen, her fingers flying over the keys with practiced skills. In all honesty when she had gotten the computer, almost five years ago, it had been a pile of junk. It was just one of the many items her brother had brought back up from Earth. IT was rusty and definitely had water damage and she had been so damn proud when she had turned it into a state of the art super computer all packed up into one laptop. 

Kalvre had recently mangaged to get an actual package through and to her surprise on of the items addressed to her was a strange triangular robot with the words- ‘to reprogram’ written on it in what she would have assumed was sharpie if the brand hadn't been killed along with every other brand of pen and retail-able item possible. She had reprogrammed it easy and was now spending its days hovering over her shoulder as though reading the code that flashed on her screen with her. 

She had been waiting on Kalvre to send her another transmission from the ship containing Lances medical report. She was yearning to know what he looked like. How he had changed. Was he taller or skinner or maybe more muscly. Did he have any cool scars that would make her wonder how he had gotten them or would his skin be as preteen as it always had been even without the huge hoard of beauty products he owned. She stilled owned a few of them, all unusable now as they had passed they’re decided cell by dates but she didn’t care.

She had the one in the photo box, that one Lance had actually given to her, saying something like it was unfair that she didn’t even wash her face, how come her skin was so clear and that she should at least wash her face to give the façade that that’s why her skin was spot free. She had actually started using it to, though only after his death, in some strange way to try to connect with his way of thinking. Lance was just so different to everyone else she knew. He response to bad situations was always a flirty comment. She wondered how he had changed in that temperament. She had known Shiro before he had been sent to the Arena, though very loosely through her brother but even with limited information she could see how he had changed.

The way he stood straighter when he thought he had heard a sound or how his head would whip around or the way his breathing increased when he was freaking out before managing to get it back under control. 

If-when they got Lance back she knew that that might be the scariest thing for her. Not knowing how to act around him. IT scared her.

Her mind had moved from the screen and her fingers slowed when the machine beeped at her. Her yes grew loud, opening the message to see the sender, ‘Kalvre’. She had put the alarm on so when he sent a transmission through she would know straight away and she could feel the tangle of nerves growing in her stomach. She should find Hunk. He needed to see what Lance looked like now. Maybe even Shiro, and if Keith was there it definitely wouldn’t hurt.

In fact if Keith wasn’t there then she would probably hunt the half-Galra boy down so that he could see it. She closed the laptop, trying to prevent herself from peaking at the file before she found anyone else.

Instead of the kitchen, which is where Pidge checked first, she found Hunk and Shiro along with Allura and Coran in the living room area. They all looked when she sauntered into the room, her excitement badly contained. “Kalvre sent me Lances photo!” She said, putting her laptop down on the table, allowing everyone to crowd around the device. “Really! Did you look at it yet?” Hunk asked, his voice up two octaves and much tighter than normal. She shook at head, giving the large man a semi-comforting smile.

“Well, lets see it.” Allura said, eager to join in with what everyone else was talking about even if she had no real idea of what was going on. Pidge grimaced as she scanned Kalvres very small message. Warning her that Lances photos weren’t pretty and that they might not look like what he used to look like. Pidge quickly went to the bottom of the message, opening the links provided. A small purple box popped up for a second, too quick for her to read it before another page opened.

And there staring back was a picture of lance. Staring right into the camera, looking slightly dazed. One side of his face large and puffy and a horrid purple-black colour that looked like the hit that had caused it probably would have broken some of his cranial bones though it was too hard to see with the swelling covering his features. His lip was slightly puffed up where the bruise stretched towards his mouth and his left eye was almost completely swollen up by the skin around it. There were a few other accompanying pictures, one of his wrist who hung unnaturally at his side. 

Another of his hip, another large bruise travelling up from where his highest ab would have been done past his leg. He was still were underwear, thankfully, Pidge definitely didn’t want to see that much. There was also small clusters of bruiser that looked like they came from the grooves in the bottom of a boot that ran up his side in the photo. She held her breath, looking down at the next photo. IT was another of his face, it looked like it had been taken a while after. His skin cleared, the bruise now a nasty yellow brown colour and his eye completely visible. 

He looked completely devoid of emotion. She quickly scrolled back up to the first photo, Lances swollen features staring back but she couldn't see any tears. The eye that was still visible wasn’t red at all. Hunks face seemingly drained of colour, turning a banana yellow colour. Shiros eyes were wandering from photo to photo. “I don’t think he’s fighting at an Arena. I mean if he had been why would his medical records be on this ship and not the arena he came from and those injuries don’t look like those sustained from the Arena fights.  
“The Galra, they like them to be flashy, normally they gave us weapons and stuff but none of those injuries actually cut skin, none of them look like they needed a weapon to produce them.” His voice seemed to hold a thousand horrid conclusions. If he wasn’t part of the Galras fighting system and they could find no evidence of slaves being used on the ship then why was he there. “Maybe he’s being transferred down to one of the Pens.” She said, her voice quite trying to hold on to some ounce of hope, though she wasn’t quite sure what she was hoping for.

Allura peered closer. “Can any of you decipher Galra?” She said, nodding at the untranslated language that sat to the right of the photo. Everyone shook their heads. “I could go find Keith, I’m sure he would be willing to translate?” Shiro offered, ignoring the eye roll Allura gave at the name. Pidge nodded, and he was gone. 

Coran hadn't said anything his eyes still looking at the man. “He's awfully young. Do you think they know he was part of the resistance? Maybe they are keeping him so they can torture information out of him.” The man suggested, making Hunk run from the table to the bin where he promptly threw up the green goo that was most of their food.  
Pidge gave a sympathetic look, noticing Shiro followed by Keith walk in. Keith didn’t seem to waste any time as he positioned himself in Pidges spot, his eyes running over the foreign text. His eyes narrowed as they travelled further down. “What does it say?” Allura asked, her voice slightly steely. 

Keiths eyes flicked towards her before nodding. “Prisoner 212215. Age: 18 approximately, Gender: Male, Subsection: Omega, Fertility: Barren, umm, Sustained wounds to his upper jaw and eye socket, should make a full recovery, bleeding on his right flank, noticeable break in his right wrist. Full recovery assured, soldier to be terminated.” He said, his eyes flicking over the rest of the text. “The rest of it just says what medicine they used and how they bandaged stuff. They seem pretty thorough with it, I’ve never seen them be this forthcoming with a medical report that wasn’t for a Galra citizen.”

**Author's Note:**

> Critique welcome


End file.
